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Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes a selfie in Lagos, which he posted to Twitter

Sundar Pichai, Twitter

Google plans to train 10-million people for digital jobs says CEO Sundar Pichai in a surprise visit to Nigeria. He is the latest global tech firm chief to make the pilgrimage to Lagos, the capital of Africa's most populous country, following trips last year by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft's Satya Nadella.

"Thrilled that we're expanding our digital skills program to train 10M Africans over the next 5 years #GoogleforNigeria," Pichai tweeted.

Nigeria has a 191-million population and an estimated 91-million Internet users as of December 2016. This equates to 47.9% of the population, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Pichai is in Nigeria for a Google conference, where he made the announcement. This follows a year-long programme to train 1-million people with digital skills, which was completed in March.

"Having 1 million digitally skilled young people in Africa is good for everyone. Because we think that if young people have the right skills, they’ll build businesses, create jobs and boost economic growth across the continent,” says Google South Africa country director Luke Mckend of this Digital Skills programme, which offered 89 courses through an online portal and face-to-face training in 20 countries with 14 training partners.

Nadella chose to be in Kenya for Microsoft's biggest launch event in 10 years, for Windows 10 in July 2015. It was seen as a sign of Africa's growing importance.

During his surprise trip last September, Zuckerberg said of Africa: "this is where the future is going to be built”.

After he walked through streets of the Yaba district of Lagos – considered to be the Silicon Valley of Nigeria, which is home to the Andela training program that his Chan Zuckerberg initiative has invested $24-million in – Zuckerberg praised African entrepreneurs: “The thing that is striking is the entrepreneurial energy. I think when you’re trying to build something, what matters the most is who wants it the most."

These entrepreneurial sentiments were also made by US President Barack Obama, who praised Kenya's tech entrepreneurs when he visited his father's birth country in July 2015: “This continent needs to be a future hub of global growth, not just African growth”.

Google and Pichai are hoping to do just that by training 10-million Africans with the digital skills the continent needs.

“We’ve been committed for years to help local businesses thrive online, as they are meaningful and crucial partners in our ecosystem,” says Mckend. “Through our different initiatives, we’ve helped to get tens of thousands of small businesses online, and helped them succeed. Our tools and technologies help anyone who wants to build a global business to connect with new customers or share their creations. Whether it’s a dressmaker who plans on expanding worldwide through the tools we provide them, or a content creator finding hundreds of thousands of viewers on YouTube, we help them grow."

I write about how innovation is better in Africa. I define innovation as solving problems, like the real problems we have in Africa. And solving those problems solves

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I write about how innovation is better in Africa. I define innovation as solving problems, like the real problems we have in Africa. And solving those problems solves them for the rest of the world. Africa isn’t just mobile-first, it’s mobile-only. I spoke about this at TED Global in June 2013 ( http://www.ted.com/talks/toby_shapshak_you_don_t_need_an_app_for_that ); and have spoken at various conferences, including SxSW in Austin (four times), Intel’s IDF in San Francisco, and The Guardian's Activate: Johannesburg. I'm the editor-in-chief and publisher of Stuff magazine and write a weekly column for the Financial Mail, both in South Africa. As a reporter, I shadowed Nelson Mandela when he was president, and covered the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I’ve been writing about innovation, telecoms, and the internet and the impact it has on our lives for more than 20 years, for a variety of publications, including CNN, The Guardian (London), Sunday Times and The Times (South Africa).